Columbia Valedictorian Plagiarized Graduation Speech

Columbia University's General Studies valedictorian Brian Corman copied a Patton Oswalt joke verbatim in his valedictory speech. Between this and Ann Curry's inability to identify which college she was addressing, this year's is one bum commencement crop.

…which is a direct knock-off of this Patton Oswalt joke, which was last knocked off barely a month ago, in a different high-profile joke-stealing snafu. Both times, Patton blew the whistle on his plagiarists.

Moral of the story: Don't steal Patton Oswalt's jokes. He will catch you, and he will tell everyone, and you will be ashamed. Both Columbia and Corman have since apologized for stealing Oswalt's schtick. [Spectrum, ArtsBeat]

Update: A communications director from Columbia reached out to send us the School of General Studies' full apology. Here it is:

It has come to our attention that a portion of our Valedictorian's remarks at this year's School of General Studies Class Day was taken from a comedy routine by Patton Oswalt. As an institution of higher learning that places a core value on respect for the works of others, we were surprised and disappointed to have learned of this matter today. Columbia University and the School of General Studies do not condone or permit the use of someone else's work without proper citation. The student speaker has appropriately issued an apology to his classmates and to Mr. Oswalt for failing to provide such attribution.